Game of Summer
by Anton-kun
Summary: Summer is always a peaceful and boring season at the Institute. Lux has always liked the silent summers, but everything changes this year when Katarina gathers all champions and proposes a game that will last for the whole summer. Chosen as the leader of the Demacian team, Lux has no choice but to fight. As the Institute turns into a battlefield, new bonds are forged.
1. Prologue: The Game

**Hello everyone! This is supposed to be a lighthearted story that will use the Institute even if it is not considered canon anymore. Therefore, the characters are not supposed to act completely like the lore says. Alternatively, you can think of this as an alternate universe. I'm currently planning a more "serious" story with the conflict between Demacia and Noxus in mind, but it will take more time to write. So I wanted to write something less serious to pass the time! (Oh, and I ship Lux and Talon. There are too few stories with this pairing!)**

**Sorry for all this chattering. Please enjoy the story!**

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><p>Summer was always a peaceful time at the Institute. No summoners were present during the summer, Summoner's Rift was disabled and most champions returned to their homes. Those who decided to stay, or didn't have any home, just walked around idly in the Institute. This summer, however, was completely different. While the summoners left as usual at the start of the season, all of the champions stayed. It was a rare sight since the Institue was known to be extremely boring and empty during the summer season.<p>

A sigh escaped the lips of the young woman as she watched her friends gather around the red-haired Noxian assassin. Lux was always positive around other people, but she actually liked the silence that summer usually brought to the Institute. It was a time when she could sit in the garden and watch the stars without having a smile plastered on her face at all times. It was a time when she could break free from her usual habits and rest. She never expected all champions to remain at the Institute this year. The shouts from the crowd around Katarina was already giving her a headache.

"Silence everyone!" Katarina grinned as she stepped onto the bench in the middle of the garden. The eyes of all champions were on her as she spoke. "Summer is always so boring at the Institute! So this year, we in the Noxian living quarters decided to host a game!"

The crowd started cheering as they heard the word "game". Lux sighed again as she recalled the events of the past summers. Someone, and in most cases it was Katarina, always had to propose something like this. And it always ended with some really awkward situations. Last summer, Lux was forced to hand a love letter to Talon. It was really embarrassing for her, but it didn't help that Talon was completely emotionless when she tried to explain her "love" for him. And on top of that, her own brother and his girlfriend, the same person who had forced her into that situation, were laughing like maniacs behind her.

"Before I start explaining the rules, do any of you have other suggestions?" Katarina asked. Most champions shook their heads, but some of them shouted some games that quickly were shot down by the others. Annie's squeaky voice echoed through the garden as she happily yelled "Hide-and-seek!"

Katarina's grin grew wider and there was something in her eyes that frightened Lux. The "game" she was talking about was obviously not an innocent game like Hide-and-seek. Lux almost wanted to walk back to her room and just sleep, but she couldn't deny that she was curious.

"We are going to divide all champions into two teams! Obviously, it's going to be Demacia versus Noxus, since the living quarters are on the opposite sides of the Institute. Champions of other factions are welcome to choose the team that they prefer." Katarina explained, her voice filled with enthusiasm.

"To achieve victory, a team must capture the leader of the opposite team and manage to keep them for at least three days in a row. During this time, the leader can be rescued by their team. The battlefield is the whole Institute. Basically, it's a war between Demacia and Noxus."

The crowd cheered again as Katarina kept explaining. To most of the champions, the game sounded exciting and they couldn't wait for it to start. Lux just buried her face in her hands as she heard the rules. She liked games and she usually shone with enthusiasm, but summer was her season of peace. Now she wouldn't even be able to read a book in the library without being ambushed by the other team. Not even one corner of the Institute would be peaceful.

"There are some rules that we have to state before beginning." Katarina turned towards the fountain behind the bench. There was a piece of paper plastered onto the bottom of the fountain.

"One: You may fight the enemy, but never kill. We will set up a protective barrier in the Institute, so no one should receive any fatal injuries. Two: You may not leave the Institute while participating in the game. Three: After you have chosen a team, you may not switch teams. Therefore, you cannot use any tactics involving spies or back-stabbing. Four: You may only have one captive from the other team at all times. Five: Rules can be added if needed."

"What about the prize?" Sivir yelled. The other champions joined her as they shouted "Prize, prize, prize" in unison.

"How about... the losing team has to do one thing that the winning team decides?"

The crowd immediately agreed as they resumed the cheering. After all, most of them wanted to have fun during the summer. And Katarina had stopped them from leaving the Institute because she had planned something "fun". The prize was just a bonus, but some champions were already imagining what they would be able to demand from the other team.

"So let's choose the leaders... it makes sense to have Jarvan for Demacia and..." Katarina pointed towards Jarvan who was standing next to Garen. She turned around, but was immediately cut off by Talon who suddenly rasied his voice.

"Let's make this even more... interesting." He sounded serious like usual, but Lux could hear a hint of smugness in his voice. "Each team gets to choose their own leader without telling the other team."

Katarina didn't bother to reply. She smirked as she clapped her hands.

"The games begin in one hour! Each team will now return to their living quarters and champions of other factions may choose their teams. You can only choose one leader per team!"

The champions scattered quickly as they ran towards opposite sides of the Institute. Lux didn't bother running, but she smiled at the sight of her brother dragging Jarvan towards the Demacian living quarters. It seemed like they were having a lot of fun already. She started walking slowly behind Ezreal who immediately began talking about how easy it would be for them to achieve victory. Her gaze drifted slowly towards Katarina. She was talking to Talon about something. Katarina's lips curved into a devillish smile as Talon whispered something before leaving. From the corner of her eye, Lux could see Talon staring at her, his dark eyes hidden beneath his hood.

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><p><strong>This chapter is supposed to be a prologue to the story. I will try to make future chapters longer, so just see this as a tiny taste of what you will get later. Although there is not much to review right now, please leave a review after the story has started for real!<strong>


	2. The Leaders

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews! I will try to implement suggestions if they fit and fix any problems that you point out. For those who have questions, I will also respond to them in private messages.**

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><p>Lux listened to the discussion intently without saying a word. While she didn't care about the game, she couldn't stop her tactical mindset from exploring all the different possibilities. As Katarina said, Jarvan would be the most obvious choice. He would be a great leader who could defend himself, but the enemy would figure it out immediately and then focus him. Garen would be another strong leader, but everyone knew that he wasn't the brightest of the champions. Xin was skilled in combat, but Lux was uncertain if he would be a good leader. Ezreal was too cocky for his own good and Vayne didn't seem to be comfortable with working in a team. In her mind, no one in her team seemed to be a perfect leader who would give them a strategical advantage. It would be best to choose a champion who was from Demacia, since they were the Demacian team after all.<p>

"Lux, what do you think?" Jarvan suddenly asked her. The champions in the room turned their attention towards her.

"W-what?" Lux stuttered, startled by the sudden question. She hadn't been paying attention to the discussion. "Can you repeat the question?"

"I think that Garen would make a great leader. What do you think? Or who would you suggest?" Jarvan asked again, slowly this time.

"I... don't know." Lux glanced at her brother as she spoke. She continued with a giggle. "Garen is strong and durable, but he can be a bit simple sometimes."

The other champions laughed at this while Garen playfully punched his sister's arm. Lux continued to imagine each champion in her team as their leader. She couldn't really see Galio as a leader, Lucian was too serious, Shyvana was too aggresive, Sona couldn't speak, Taric only cared about his gems, Quinn was comfortable as a scout, and while the enemy wouldn't suspect Poppy, she preferred to just fight without having to think about other things. That would leave...

"How about Lux?" Ezreal suddenly suggested. "She is smart and a really powerful mage!"

"I agree." Caitlyn said calmly, sipping her tea. "She isn't as obvious as Jarvan, but she can defend herself and is useful in fights. She is also very intelligent."

"I don't know about that..." Lux blushed slightly as the other champions agreed. "I'm not really suited for fighting and..."

She didn't want to say it out loud, but she had planned to stay in her room during most of the game and just ignore it. No one would try to disturb her if she wasn't the leader and she felt that her team was already strong enough without her. But seeing how her friends put so much trust in her, she finally gave in.

"If you really feel that I'm a good leader... then I will try my best to lead us to victory." Lux said with a smile – a smile that actually wasn't forced. Maybe she actually looked forward to the game? "I think that Garen would make a better leader though..."

"Hey! Didn't you just say that I'm simple?" Garen laughed as he punched her arm again.

"Yeah, but you would still be a better choice than me."

"This meeting is over then! The game starts in ten minutes. Remember to protect Lux, but don't make it too obvious that she is our leader. We will try to trick the enemy into thinking that I am the leader." Jarvan clapped his hands. Everyone cheered as they left the room, preparing themselves for the first day of the game.

Lux wanted to sigh again, but she stopped herself as she felt Ezreal's hand on her shoulder. He looked down at her face with a bright smile as he leaned closer towards her. She wondered why he had suggested her as the leader, since she thought that he would want that role for himself. His smile gave her a small ounce of strength that she used to prepare herself mentally for the challenges ahead.

"Remember to have fun Lux." he said before leaving the room too.

His words echoed in her head as she turned towards her brother. They didn't exchange any words, but Lux could see in his eyes that he wanted to tell her the same thing – to have fun. In the background, she could hear people shouting "The game has started! The game has started!" With newfound confidence, Lux walked out of the room, dragging her brother behind her.

Even if the games had started already, the main corridor between the Demacian and the Noxian living quarters was empty and silent just like any other summer. Lux curiously peeked around the corner that connected the corridor to the main entrance of the Institute. Vayne was hiding behind the giant pillars of marble together with Lucian, guarding the eastern entrance to the Demacian living quarters. She hadn't been paying that much attention to Jarvan's strategy explanation, but she could guess that there were defending squads situated at each entrance to their territory and attacking squads or scouting squads trying to break into the Noxian territory. Garen shook her hand impatiently.

"Lux, I need to assist Jarvan and Xin. I am one of Jarvan's bodyguards. You need to stay close to Leona and Janna." Garen said quickly before leaving towards the western corridor. Lux nodded as she continued walking through the main corridor, trying to find Leona's squad.

Two knives suddenly flew towards her, forcing her to roll into the nearby wall. She hit her head against the wall, but the pain was almost completely absorbed by the protective barrier. Recovering quickly from the impact, Lux dodged another pair of knives. She turned around in a perfect circle to face her opponent. Katarina laughed as she placed her hand on another knife.

"Not bad Lux! Maybe Garen is underestimating you. He keeps telling me that he needs to protect you since he is your brother. Tell me who your leader is and I'll let you go!" she laughed again while pointing her knife at Lux.

"Haha, never Kat! Let's have a brilliant battle!" Lux returned Katarina's laugh with her own.

Lux smiled at Katarina, her crystal blue eyes shining with determination. It seemed like Katarina didn't suspect Lux at all, which gave her the strategical advantage. Lux didn't have any guards at the moment, so it didn't look like she was the leader of her team. She didn't really think that Katarina was the enemy leader either, since she seemed to be alone and they were too near the Demacian territory. Or maybe they were using the same strategy as her own team?

"You seem to have fun Lux." Katarina lowered the knife slowly.

"You're not going to fight me? Did you realize that I have the advantage here?" Lux asked, her eyes focusing on the knife.

"Nope. It just feels too risky to fight you right now and it's not really worth it." Katarina shrugged, attaching her knife to her belt. "But you really are having fun, aren't you?"

It seemed more like a statement than a question. Lux didn't know what to reply, since she didn't even know the answer herself. Did she have fun? She had to admit that she had been trying very hard in her short encounter with Katarina. But she was the Demacian leader. Of course she had to try her best to win. She would still prefer to sit in the library and read books about ancient magic while drinking tea or some cold smoothie. That was what she did every summer. Without saying anything more, Katarina leaped backwards into the long corridor.

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><p>"Come on! The game has started already and we don't have a leader! If the other team gets to know this, they will win by default." Cassiopeia hissed.<p>

"Don't panic." Swain said calmly. "There is a big flaw with the game rules. How is the enemy team supposed to know who our leader is? No one is going to tell them and we don't have referees in the game. We could just appoint a leader and then change it if that person gets captured..."

"That's cheap Swain." Talon said with a frown. "It wouldn't feel good to win like that."

"Actually, that wouldn't work." Cassiopeia glared at Swain. Obviously, she didn't want Swain to take the leader role. "I planned this game with Kat, so I know how it works. Remember the protective barrier we set up? It acts as the referee in this game and it knows who the leader of each team is."

"The rules never said that you cannot change your leader." Swain stated, still calm. "I thought that you liked to play dirty Cass..."

"Yeah, but–"

Talon sighed as he leaned against the wall, staring at Swain and Cassiopeia as they started arguing. He had sent Katarina to scout the main corridor to buy them some time, but the meeting wasn't proceeding like they had planned. There were quite a few champions in the room who wanted the leader role. Pretty much everyone, especially Draven who had to think that choosing him would be wise, wanted to be the leader. Cassiopeia was hissing again, saying something about Swain ruining the point of the game.

"Just be silent." Talon muttered. "Just let me be the leader. If I get captured, which won't happen, you can change to someone else. That way, everyone will be happy, right?"

"You? Leader?" Cassiopeia stared at the man she called her brother in disbelief. "Sure, you are skilled in combat and intelligent enough, but..."

"It's not like we need a leader to actually raise the moral of our team. Most of the champions are going to act on their own anyway." He made a small gesture towards the place where Jinx had stood a few minutes ago.

"True. I don't have any objections then." Cassiopeia smirked. At least she could trust Talon to win this game for them. "Just give up Swain. And everyone else, just stop trying. If we decide this by voting, Talon will be the only one ending up with more than one vote."

"I don't agree. Talon may be a skilled assassin, but he lacks the intelligence to–" Swain sighed as the other champions started to leave the room, ignoring his objections.

With another sigh, Swain followed the group of Noxian champions. Talon quietly watched him, still leaning against the wall. He observed each champion carefully. He knew that the Demacian team probably, or obviously, would have better teamwork. But it didn't matter – he only needed Katarina and Cassiopeia to ensure that his team would win. He could trust them to watch his back. While most of the champions knew him as the mysterious shadow assassin, only a few of them didn't underestimate his intelligence. Just like Swain, he was acutally a very capable tactician.

The meeting room was completely empty now, but Talon still didn't move. He was fairly sure that some champions would jump into battle immediately. The key to winning the game wasn't just winning all of the fights. If they could figure out who the Demacian leader was, it would be easy for someone like him to handle the rest. After all, he always lurked in the shadows.

He wasn't stupid. Actually, he was sure that he would be able to figure out the Demacian leader after the first day of the game. Only a few champions could be the leader and he already had a pretty clear picture of who it was. A smirk spread across his face as he fixed his hood slightly. He walked slowly into the empty and dark hallway. With a fluid motion, he spun around, disappearing into the shadows.

Victory would be easy for them to achieve. And he would make sure that the Demacian team would have no chance to win. He wanted to claim his prize after all...

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! The next chapter will feature Lux on the battlefield together with her team and also the friendship between Demacian champions. If you're wondering, I'm focusing more on team Demacia for a few reasons: I'm more familiar with seeing things from Demacia's perspective and it will also make some plot points less predictable.<strong>

**Hopefully, the next chapter will be up by early February.**


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